Not just anyone can come back in 52 days from hip replacement surgery to drive a car, let alone drive a racehorse, but that exactly what The Bionic Man, Tim Tetrick did. Not only did he drive, he won his first race back at The Meadowlands, guiding Eagle Say to a score in the third race Filly & Mare C-2 Trot in 1:58. Tetrick made his move to the half, sensing a soft clip through a 58.3 half-mile and easily launched past a tired Rel Postage Due. It was that middle move that won the race, as Eagle Say (7-2) scored a decisive two length victory over Bluebird Kidsqueen. Tetrick drove the winner for trainer Eric Mollor and winning owner Gary Wolfinger. “It feels good (to get the first win out of the way),” said Tetrick in a paddock interview with Justin Horowitz. “It was a little rougher trip to get back, but I feel good. I’m definitely out of shape a little bit, but hopefully that will all come back.” The full interview can be seen on The Meadowlands Youtube page at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuroSY7Hau0.
Yannick Gingras and Dave Miller both dominated the rest of the card, winning six of the remaining nine races, splitting those six at three-a-piece. In fact, Miller put up a natural hat trick, sweeping races five, six and seven on the card.
The Pick 5 carryover of $18,083 led to a total pool in the Pick 5 of $137,829. The sequence returned $2,712.30 on the fifty-cent investment, thanks to the win by Casino King and driver/trainer Joe Martin in the 4th race C-2 Pace, who scored at 23-1 in 1:54.4 for owner Beauty Bridle Racing Stable Incorporated.
In addition the Winter Survival Online Challenge kicked off Thursday night with 5,393 participants, a 54-percent increase from last year and the most ever seen in the contest, which runs every race night through the end of the Winter/Spring meet on Saturday April 26th. The contest can be found at
http://wintersurvivalchallenge.com/.
Racing returns to The Meadowlands on Friday night with post time of 7:15 P.M.
By: Darin Zoccali
